Water the way to go for Kaikorai school’s fundraising street party
KAIKORAI Primary School’s street party made a splash on Saturday — especially for principal Simon Clarke who was in the dunking chair.
The school’s fundraising fair has long been held every two years, but, partly because of Covid19, there were several new twists to the wellestablished formula on Saturday.
Hundreds of people swarmed into the party, enjoying not only the school grounds and fair attractions, including plant stalls, but also relished the fact that for the first time the Dunedin City Council had given permission for Wright St, beside the school, to be closed for the event.
Many more stalls, some selling hot food, were set up in the street.
A full sound system also provided entertainment, including a memorable performance by community Japanese drumming group OTaiko.
Party coordinator Kelly Macknight said planning the fair usually took many months, but after Auckland’s Covid19 outbreak in August, Dunedin had returned to Alert Level 2, and limited gathering sizes.
The party then had to be organised in only a few weeks, once restrictions were later relaxed.
The fair had previously raised $30,000, and she was delighted that about $26,000 had been raised this year, despite the pandemic aftermath.
The main focus this year was on celebrating having come through Covid19 successfully as a community.
‘‘It’s been a tough year for people but the school community has really come together, people have been very generous.’’